


Gratuitous compliments

by vanishing_apples



Category: Granblue Fantasy (Video Game)
Genre: (read: no one asked it's just me), Fluff, M/M, in which they're both idiots, people ask for both moron and bulli shiva I deliver
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-20
Updated: 2019-01-20
Packaged: 2019-10-13 06:07:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,487
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17482601
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vanishing_apples/pseuds/vanishing_apples
Summary: No one quite knew or bothered to find out what had ticked Grimnir off, and it was somehow Shiva’s job to make him stop sulking.





	Gratuitous compliments

Shiva watched with amusement as another oversized bite of pancake was shoved into Grimnir’s mouth, probably as saturated with indignation as it was with strawberry syrup. Around them the diner’s mortal patrons engaged in animated conversations and made merry, all the while Grimnir’s bubble of discontent remained stubbornly impervious to their infectious joy.

A good hour since their assignment to this week’s grocery shopping and Grimnir had been consistently agitated throughout. Shiva had considered this opportunity an abrupt blessing from the Singularity, as her aversion to letting him (or any other primal crew members) roam unsupervised in skydweller settlements was no secret. He loved mortals and was almost zealous in observing and learning about their culture, but their captain had made it clear that this little excursion’s primary goal - aside from stocking up on supplies - was to “deal with Grimnir”. 

No one quite knew or bothered to find out what had ticked him off, and it was somehow Shiva’s job to make him stop sulking. Take him out for a treat and, seeing how Grimnir usually looked to him as a role model of sort, talk the wind primal out of his little tantrum, she said. 

At present, Shiva was admittedly regretful of missing out on what looked like a mighty fun time the children of men were having together with their musical instruments a few tables away. But alas, leaving his irate partner to simmer while he made off to explore on his own would be cause for much deeper regret. Scooting his chair over to narrow the distance between them, Shiva began.

“God of war, what is bothering you?”

“Shhh! Didn’t Captain say not to call each other by title when we’re around the mortals?” - Grimnir hissed through a bulging mouthful of syrupy pancake. 

“Right, I apologise.” - Suddenly made aware of their godly statuses, Shiva’s hidden lower set of arms shuffled uncomfortably under his cloak. - “Do answer the question, though, Grimnir.”

The sound of his name in Shiva’s voice made Grimnir’s heart quicken in his chest, for some reason. Granted the fire primal had never called him by name before, but novelty alone would be an odd and insufficient reason for his sudden unease. Grimnir was so confused by this physiological reaction he briefly forgot to be persistent with his sulking.

“W-well… It’s just…” - He swallowed hard, the cloying bite of pancake fighting to climb back up his throat. 

The reason for his tantrum suddenly seemed so stupidly inconsequential now that not as much anger remained in his system. Maybe it always was. Maybe Grimnir was just an idiot.

“Just…?” - Shiva raised an inquisitive eyebrow. - “Has someone within our crew wronged you? Have you any business in urgent need of finishing but cannot resolve it without aid? Someone erroneously partook of your last afternoon desse-”

“No! None of that! Just…!” 

Grimnir’s fork hit his plate with a clang as his hands were raised to frantically wave off the false assumptions. The more invested Shiva exhibited himself to be, the less willing Grimnir was to share his worries. 

This was stupid, so stupid it shouldn’t at all concern the god of destruction of all people. But Grimnir knew he had no one else but himself to blame for this predicament. Now he was trapped under the scrutiny of intense, ice blue eyes which was, patiently yet firmly, coaxing an answer out of him. 

“I was just…” - Grimnir squirmed, trying desperately to avoid eye contact as heat built under his skin. - “Just... Ugh…”

“Yes, go on.” - Shiva’s attempt at being encouraging was to the effect of Grimnir feeling it accusatory instead.

“I’m tired of being the ‘cute’ one among us primarchs’ disciples, okay!!?”

Awkward silence edged in between them. Grimnir was ready for its shattering by Shiva’s laughter, also signaling his dignity’s ruin. But to his bafflement no part of this imagined disaster materialised. What lifted the silence was in fact, Shiva only calmly raising his voice.

“I see. Please elaborate.” - The fire primal was genuinely putting in his best effort to sympathise.

“Eh…? Uh, s-sure.” 

Grimnir cleared his throat, then continued with haste lest Shiva remembered to laugh before he did. 

“Y’know! I actually work really hard on my speeches? And I help out a lot in combat too, with painstakingly crafted battle cries at the ready, even! Sure, I don’t get to finish saying them half the time from getting interrupted by the Captain, or the red dragon, or that scary human boy with bandaged arms… or the even scarier half-primal woman… but I really try! And yet no matter what I do or say I keep getting called... c-cute!? Even worse, the harder I try the more persistently the label sticks! Why don’t Alexiel or Europa ever get that treatment!? I mean... Alexiel is admittedly a cool cat, and Europa is frighteningly powerful when she wishes to but still!!”

Sucking in a deep, much needed breath, Grimnir slumped to the table with one cheek pressed against the cool wooden surface. Yet even after hearing the detailed circumstances, Shiva still struggled to understand the issue. To his knowledge, at least, was “cute” not a positive attribute? Even he had been called so once by the girl in blue, and Shiva was certain she had meant no harm.

“I see, so you wish to be known as a ‘cool cat’, like the earth primarch’s disciple.” - Shiva put the new vocabulary to immediate use to better memorise it.

“Uh… Yeah, I wanna be cool! Hey, what do I have to do to be badass as you are!? What am I doing wrong here?”

Grimnir sat upright to give Shiva a brief, despondent look, then almost immediately sank into his chair with head thrown back in defeat. 

It was hard to watch. Shiva now understood their Captain’s need to have Grimnir cheered up. Having someone known for their explosive energy be in such low spirit was uncanny and in overall undesirable. But in spite of his good will, Shiva could offer no sound advice. He had never even heard of the property of “badass”, let alone be aware of which part of his conduct was responsible for giving Grimnir the impression. 

But perhaps what the god of war needed wasn’t quite what he wished for. Many mortal lifetimes of prayer-heeding had taught Shiva of a wisher’s erroneous judgment: their inclination to mistake want for necessity. Maybe even immortal beings like them could also be guilty of this. Perhaps what Grimnir needed was simply some appreciation. 

“I would call your command of the spear unmatched.”

“...Pardon?” - Grimnir perked up with a confused blink, doubting his own ears.

“As a fellow spear user, I find great value in sparring sessions with you. There is always much to learn from the controlled freedom with which you wield your weapon. Not only in force, you are just as formidable a strategist, which is surely one of the qualities making you worthy of the role of the wind primarch’s disciple.”

Grimnir’s eyes had widened to the size of saucers by the time Shiva paused. Without the toothy grin eventually breaking across his dumbfounded face, Shiva would have thought his words had gravely offended.

“You really think so... I mean…! Hah!! Of course my knowledge of warfare and battle prowess should live up to by hallowed title! I am Grimnir, the god of war, heir to the wind primarch’s fearsome gales! What would Master Raphael think, were I not constantly striving to prove myself worthy of succeeding him through my battle deeds!?”

Grimnir’s nostrils flared with pride, his chest puff up. Satisfied to see the instantaneous effect of his efforts, Shiva pushed on.

“Indeed. Your loyalty towards your comrades is also commendable, and so is your determination in the face of adversity.”

“Heheh… It is only natural! Allies of mine are granted my eternal protection, such is the pact established among us splinters of a single soul!!”

Shiva’s cup of tea clanked against its saucer and Grimnir’s empty plate jolted, vibrating at the force of the wind primal’s hands slamming down on the table. Grimnir’s newfound enthusiasm proved infectious, as even Shiva felt urged to continue with his barrage of compliments, even if his ever calm demeanor may denote otherwise.

“You also have a way with animals. Nagaraja enjoys spending time with you, and was quite disheartened that he could not accompany us today.”

“Ah… Is that so? Then should we buy Nagaraja some snacks with the spare change we got lat-“

“And I find your ability to converse with the children of men not as a god, but as equals, inspiring. You learn astoundingly quickly, even adopting their manners of speech quite effortlessly.”

“Eh?... Thanks, but I really didn’t do anythi-“

“You have great taste in literature and are always generous with recommending and lending me exemplary works.”

“Th...thanks and you’re welcome. Uhm! I feel better now, so…”

Grimnir’s earlier enthusiasm and pride was gradually replaced by apprehension and a light dusting of pink across his cheeks. In a gesture that would mortify Europa - their resident paragon of flawless conduct - the wind primal pulled both his feet up to rest on his chair, squirming a little as if to make himself smaller.

But rather than finding this new reaction alarming, Shiva was deeply intrigued. How could words of the same nature garner such different responses, rather than intensify a single effect upon repetition? Interesting… Shiva’s motivation shifted as he wondered what would happen if he kept going. Nothing could stop him from finding out.

“Your energy is an asset to the morale of our crew.”

“Shiva, plea-“

“You are a good playmate for the little ones.”

“Shiv-“

“I look forward to greeting you every morning, the rare occasions of being able to fight by your side, training with you, learning about mortal culture together.”

“Nnnnnngg!!!” 

Grimnir let out an incomprehensible noise of protest, face buried into his knees in a futile effort to hide from Shiva, who was inexplicably inching closer. The flaming blush made itself known by colouring his exposed ears magenta, from which one could practically see steam billowing. But Shiva was not in the mood to grant his clemency, yet.

“I enjoy the sight of sunlight hitting your hair, making each fine lock dazzle and frame you with a lining of gold. It’s truly beautif-“

“PLEASE STOP!!!”

Grimnir’s well-projected scream sent the whole diner plummeting into silence. All eyes were squarely on their table. A lady’s silverware slipped from her fingers, hitting the floor in unreasonably loud clangs.

Shiva was puzzlingly unfazed by the disastrous bulk of unwanted attention thrown their way with the force and speed of a poorly piloted airship crashing into a mountainside. Still blushing crimson, Grimnir’s fight or flight instinct kicked into gear the moment someone in his periphery moved.

“THANKS FOR THE MEAL AND SORRY FOR THE TROUBLE HERE’S YOUR MONEY!”

Their entire pouch of coins unceremoniously flung onto the table, the primals dashed for the door. Befitting of the swiftness of his gales, Grimnir had grabbed one of Shiva’s exposed hands and somehow managed to drag the hulking mass of solid muscles of a god easily twice his size out of the diner. Miraculously, he didn’t forget to grab their groceries.

—-

“Grimnir.”

“...”

“Grimnir, please get up.”

Shiva prodded the quivering roll of Grimnir on the ground. The gesture didn’t succeed in unfurling the wind primal, however.

“...I implore that you let me process what just happened, so…”

“Alright.”

Grimnir shuffled a little upon the sound of Shiva plopping down next to him, lest the small alley they occupied was too narrow. Silence hung in the air, but to neither of them it was the unpleasant kind. Grimnir eventually grew at ease enough to slightly unravel himself.

“...Please don’t do that again.” 

“I apologise. Are you not partial to praise after all?”

“No! I... did kind of enjoy the attention at first but…” - Grimnir interrupted himself with uneasy laughter. - “... _That_ much all at once is a little too much for my heart.”

Shiva chuckled, amused as he was mildly puzzled. 

“I see. However, let it be known that none of my words were empty flattery. You really are in possession of many virtues.”

Grimnir swallowed.

“Yessir.”

“So don’t feel like your worth is dependent on the judgment of others. There is simply no need.” - Shiva gave Grimnir’s head a gentle pat, pulling away just quick enough to deny his hand the urge to linger over the silky locks. - “Have faith in yourself, ‘cool cat’.”

Had Grimnir been any less flustered, he would have surely gone off on a hysterical tangent on how awe-inspiring that was. But with his heart hammering away in his chest, he could only make do with but a few nervous chuckles, the swarm of butterflies in his stomach betraying the sudden wave of calm folding over his body.

“...Thanks. Really.” 

“You’re welcome. Really.” 

Their laughter resounded in the alleyway as dusk washed into the dinky space, bringing with it the day’s last sliver of warmth. Grimnir thought the slice of light creeping up his leg felt like Shiva, or being near him, at least. With his thigh mere inches away, Grimnir was tempted to lift his head and rest it there, give himself a direct taste of just how intense the heat radiating off the other primal truly was. And he would’ve been tempted enough to find out, against all reservations, had it not been for Shiva raising his voice.

“You were suggesting that we buy some snacks for Nagaraja on our way back?”

“Ah… yeah!” - Grimnir nearly slipped pushing himself up a little too frantically. - “You think Nagaraja would enjoy castella? Or caramel popcorn! There’s a great store for that around here! I gave Nagaraja some salted popcorn yesterday and he really seemed to like it so…”

Shiva crossed both pairs of his arms over his torso.

“So you were responsible. I was worried as he did not touch his meal last evening.”

“Ack! You weren’t supposed to kn- I mean! I’m sorry. Please forgive me.”

The fire primal stopped himself just short of bursting into laughter at the dramatic shift of expressions on Grimnir: from evidently cursing himself internally to hanging his head in abject guilt.

“Pardon granted. Just remember to time your shared snacks more wisely and eat in moderation next time.”

“Got it.”

“Good. Now, shall we get going?” 

“Yeah!! Let’s… uh…”

Grimnir’s zeal was gone as quickly as it had lit up his face, his hands aimlessly groping at all of his pockets. Their Captain’s warnings already left his mind, all four of Shiva’s arms were now in full view and carrying all of their grocery bags. They were ready to go, as far as he was concerned, Grimnir’s sudden worrisome pause being the only thing stopping him from dashing back into the streets. 

“What’s wrong?”

“...I left all of our money at the diner.”

**Author's Note:**

> This was an attempt at reconciling Shiva's pre-playable bully image and his post-playable sweet moron identity. I love Shiva as he is, but no one can tell me it isn't the slightest bit wasteful of Grimnir's bulli bait potential. Thanks for reading!
> 
> Come yell at me @vanishingapples


End file.
